Thursday, December 02, 2010

U.S. Chart Roundup: Raise Your Glass To Pink, Who Has Her Third #1 Single

I'm immensely happy to see Pink's "Raise Your Glass" make its way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week. Who knew that this broad would still be around all these years later, while the rest of her fellow "Lady Marmalade" singers would fall over into the dumpster, one-by-one?

And, yes—I usually try to avoid mention "Lady Marmalade" in relation to Pink's chart achievements, but in this case I'm doin' it, since it was her first of three #1 singles over the past nine years (the second being "So What" in 2008).

Over on the Top 200 chart, Pink's Greatest Hits...So Far!!! falls from #14 to #29. (Though that's not as disastrous as Nelly's drop from #10 to #39 with 5.0.)

Also loving the rapid succession of #1 singles on the Hot 100 lately. It's especially gratifying, since when I started this blog, it was in the days of some rap song topping the chart for six-to-10 week stretches at a time.

Anyway, Enrique Iglesias' trashy new club jam "Tonight (I'm Fuckin' You)" debuts at #18 this week (albeit in it's clean "I'm Lovin' You" form). It's a real Renaissance for the hottest piece of tail in pop, considering he now has two Top 20 singles under his naughty belt in 2010. Previously, his last Top 20 hit was "Escape," which reached #12 in 2002.

Meanwhile, just as "We No Speak Americano" slides out of the Top 40, another dance jam from overseas—Edward Maya's "Stereo Love"—continues to make gains. The tune previously reached #4 on the UK chart back in May, and this week climbs to #26 here in the States.

Other trash: Michael Jackson and Akon's "Hold My Hand" jumps from #84 to #50, Christina Aguilera's "Show Me How You Burlesque" debuts at #70 and David Guetta and Rihanna's "Who's That Chick" enters at #73.

If I never hear "Stereo Love" again, it will be all too soon. Thanks to BPM for wearing it out, and with that annoying accordion intro, that sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard, I reach for the remote every time I hear it!

I am convinced the Hot 100 is finally healthy again. Starting in the mid-90s when single sales started to evaporate, the chart has become more and more skewed. As you said, for a long time it seemed only rap songs could make it to #1. Look at some of the biggest pop hits of the past decade- Get this party started,Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Complicated, Since U Been Gone- all were huge hits but never made it to #1. My theory is that with no song sales to keep airplay in line with customers' true tastes, it got out of whack. Over the last few years, it has been slowly coming back. Now, a variety of song types hit the top. And I agree that the more rapid turnover is a good thing, although that usually goes in cycles.

Whilst - say what you want about this - Raise Your Glass sounds like a Katy Perry song (which all sound like Pink rip-offs anyway), it's so good to hear that voice again. No one chews the scenery like Pink does. It's nothing major, the video is horrid, so no reason at all why it shouldn't top the charts then.